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Portable liquid level detector

a liquid level detector and portable technology, applied in liquid/fluent solid measurement, instruments, machines/engines, etc., can solve the problems of process engineers not knowing how much liquid remains in containers, process engineers' estimations being wrong, and ruining semiconductor products

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-08-15
NAN YA TECH
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a portable liquid level detector that can determine the level of liquid in a container or the position of a clog within a pipe. The detector has a sensor that senses changes in capacitance and outputs a signal when a difference is detected. A light emission device illuminates and an alarm device sounds after receiving the signal, identifying the position of the liquid or clog. The detector has a portable casing, a power supply unit, a sensor, a light emission device, an alarm device, a resistor, and a switch. The technical effects of the invention include improved accuracy and efficiency in identifying liquid levels and clog positions, as well as improved portability and reliability.

Problems solved by technology

However, sometimes the container used to contain liquid is nontransparent, so that process engineer doesn't know how much liquid remains in the container.
But sometimes the process engineer's estimation is wrong, in which case the liquid supply may be interrupted, ruining semiconductor products.
However, the flow measuring system is not cheap.
So, if a flow measuring system must be provided with every process that needs liquid supply, the cost is high.

Method used

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Examples

Experimental program
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first embodiment

[0015]FIG. 1 shows a portable liquid level detector according to the present invention. The liquid level detector 100 is applied to determine the liquid level of a container (not shown). The liquid level detector 100 includes a portable casing 50 containing a power supply unit 10, a sensor 20 coupled to the power supply unit 10 to sense whether a capacitance within a container is changed and to output a enable signal En1 when the capacitance has changed, a light emission device 30 coupled to the sensor 20 to illuminate after receiving the enable signal En1, an alarm device 40 coupled to the sensor 20 to sound after receiving the enable signal En1, a resistor R1 coupled to the light emission device 30 to limit a current flowing through the light emission device 30, and a switch S1 coupled to the power supply unit 10 to control an electrical conduction between the power supply unit 10 and the sensor 20.

[0016]For convenience and portability, the power supply unit 10 is preferably a bat...

second embodiment

[0023]The operation of the liquid level detector 110 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described below in reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4. FIG. 1 shows a portable liquid level detector according to the present invention and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for illustrating the operation of the second embodiment to detect a clog or jam in a pipe.

[0024]In FIG. 4, a clog 250 is jammed in a non-transparent pipe 210. If the container pipe 210 is composed of metallic materials, the sensor 20 of the liquid level detector 110 is moved into proximity to the pipe 210 without contacting it. Then the liquid level detector 110 is moved to position P3 from position P2 or to position P4 from position P5 along the pipe 210. The sensor 20 outputs an enable signal En1, when the sensor 20 detects the clog 250 in the pipe 210 (a difference in the capacitance in pipe 210 is detected). The light emission device 30 and alarm device 40 are coupled to the sensor 20. The light e...

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Abstract

A portable liquid level detector. The detector comprises a portable casing, a power supply unit disposed in the portable casing, a sensing device coupled to the power supply unit to sense a capacitance within a container and to output a enable signal when a difference in the capacitance is detected, a light emission device coupled to the sensing unit that illuminates after receiving the enable signal, and an alarm device coupled to the sensing unit that sounds after receiving the enable signal.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This patent application is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 10 / 081,340, filed on Feb. 22, 2002, now abandoned, which claims priority to Taiwanese Application No. 90133026, filed on Dec. 28, 2001.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to a portable liquid level detector, and method for detecting the level of a liquid in a container.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]In some semiconductor processes, liquid supply is necessary. For example, chemical slurries or the like used in chemical mechanical polish (CMP) processes require liquid provision. However, sometimes the container used to contain liquid is nontransparent, so that process engineer doesn't know how much liquid remains in the container. In this case, the process engineers sometimes estimate how much liquid remains in the container by knocking the container and listening to the corresponding sound from the co...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Patents(United States)
IPC IPC(8): G08B21/00G01F23/00G01F23/26
CPCG01F23/263G01F23/00
Inventor KU, CHIN CHUNGCHEN, CHIH-KUNLIN, CHIEN-HUI
Owner NAN YA TECH